


a cat's life just comes once

by chosuiri



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: For i7 flashbang, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-23 16:56:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16622795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chosuiri/pseuds/chosuiri
Summary: Iori and Tamaki, by some twist of fate or rather terrible judgement on Iori's part, adopt a cat.





	a cat's life just comes once

**Author's Note:**

> ao3 wiped what i had for this originally so idk what i was gonna say but (finger guns) enjoy this is ultimate no brain cells tamaio
> 
> i was paired with my good bud cornbread ([@osombu](https://twitter.com/osombu) on twitter. also that's not their actual alias i just call them that) for the i7 flash bang!, and it was fun working w/ them on this!! you'll see their art later on in the fic (AT THE RIGHT TIMING) so look forward to that!

“So you forgot your umbrella again, Yotsuba-san?” Iori asks with a weary sigh, crouching down so his umbrella is covering both him and his friend. He then glances over at the target of Tamaki’s gaze, and manages to make out a silhouette through the rain. It was clearly some sort of animal, and it’s not like he wanted it to be a stray cat they can take in for the night or something like that. Definitely not. He keeps his lips firmly pressed in a straight line, and waits patiently for Tamaki’s answer.

He looks up at Iori, and Iori notes the completely drenched state of Tamaki’s hoodie. “I’m not stupid, Iorin. I just gave it to someone who needed it more than me.” He replies, his tone softer than what Iori is used to. “Don’t you see him? Right here--” he grabs Iori’s arm, lowering him to the proper angle so he can see the identity of that silhouette.

Tamaki points proudly at a cat with angelic white fur, although thoroughly dirtied by the mud and rain-- he glows from underneath the dark gray umbrella Tamaki provided.

Iori’s heart stops, and swells-- everything about the scene is incredibly endearing and appealed directly to his emotions, but he will die before letting Tamaki know that. He clears his throat, and attempts to regain his cool before he absolutely loses it over this cat. “So it’s like that. Yotsuba-san, you do know that--”

Tamaki shoots him a frown, and Iori swears that he resembles a kicked puppy.

“How kind of you to give your umbrella to this cat,” Iori says lightly instead, earning a grin from Tamaki. “So, do you know anything about this cat?”

Tamaki shrugs, “I dunno. Maybe he got abandoned-- but he’s so pompous he reminds me of Tenten.”

Iori forces himself to stifle a chuckle at the subtle jab at TRIGGER’s center, and instead nods in agreement. The rational side of him said to just take Tamaki and leave the cat be, but then another part of him wanted to take in the cat.

“Iorin, let’s take him home.”

Having no brain cells wins _this time_.

“... I suppose we have no choice,” Iori mutters with a hint of a blush on his cheeks, “ah, how troublesome.”

Tamaki snorts at Iori’s display, and then scoops up the small cat off the ground. The cat doesn’t make any attempt to resist, and instead curls up into Tamaki’s torso. He chuckles, bringing him closer to his chest. He then ducks out of Iori’s umbrella, and grabs his own off the ground. “Tenten really likes me, huh~”

“Don’t call him Tenten, Yotsuba-san. That’s going to be confusing.” Iori frowns, “maybe something like--”

“He’s Tenten and that’s final.” Tamaki retorts, gaze softening as he looks back down at the feline. “Wait, wouldn’t Mikki be mad if we brought in a cat… is that allowed… Oh, and Rikkun too.”

Iori’s eyes widen at the realization, and swiftly he steps toward Tamaki. In some sort of idiotic act, he touches the cat, and strokes it for a bit. When they get back to the dorms, Iori has no qualms with giving the cat a bath-- it deserves one, after all. Not like he wanted to just keep petting this cat. “We’ll just keep it a secret. And away from Nanase-san.” Iori mumbles, and then looks up at Tamaki. “So Yotsuba-san, you’ll have to hide him under your shirt. Is that fine?”

“Don’t you want to hold him?”

“A-Ah… if you insist… I suppose I can… just this once…”

“Iorin, quit doing that and be more honest. I know you just want to hold Tenten.” Tamaki sighs, flattening the fur on the cat’s head again and then carefully transferring the cat into Iori’s arms.

Iori blinks at the cat suddenly being in his arms, and remains in utter bliss as they walk back to the dorms.

It would’ve been a bit nicer if the cat stopped scratching him, though. It’s almost like TRIGGER’s center really turned into this cat.

* * *

As soon as they make it to the front of the dorms, the two of them close their umbrellas-- rather, Tamaki closing his and then taking Iori’s and doing it for him. “Iorin, I’ll put him under my shirt now.”

Iori nods, and then gently brings Tenten down, careful to not wake him from his slumber.

Then with, not much semblance of a warning, Tamaki lifts his shirt up, unveiling his stomach and… abs.

Iori shouldn’t be that surprised, but he’s surprised nonetheless. He coughs, and then unceremoniously hands the cat over to Tamaki, who eagerly puts him inside his shirt.

He can only blankly watch as the cat seems to squirm around in Tamaki’s shirt-- possibly feeling unsettled by those rock hard abs of his, huh. “Can’t you calm him down, Yotsuba-san?”

“Probably..?” Tamaki sucks in a breath, then exhales. He stretches out his shirt, and peers inside. “Hey, Tenten. Keep it down. You can sleep in Iorin’s bed all you want later.”

“Why my bed…” Iori grumbles. Quietly, he opens the door, ushering in Tamaki to go in first. Tamaki does just that, walking ahead of Iori who quickly locks the door behind him.

“Welcome back!” Riku calls cheerfully from the living room, but his exuberance is soon replaced by a sneeze. _Great_. Iori exchanges glances with Tamaki, who shoots him a knowing look, and then he walks off very quickly without saying a word to Riku. Iori sighs, regretting that Tamaki didn’t get the memo to at least say something to Riku. “Geez, what’s Tamaki in the hurry for?” He asks as he rubs at his nose.

“Maybe he wanted a nap,” Iori lies.

“Isn’t he going to your room?” Riku blinks, climbing up the couch slightly to look behind him and track down the direction Tamaki is headed in. He tilts his head to the side, and then he turns his head to stare expectantly at Iori. His confusion turns into a more prideful one, and he seems to be mocking him with that sneaky smile of his. “Oh, I get it-- you two want to be alone still, huh? You two can be cute too, huh!”

“Nanase-san, that is not--”

“It’s okay, Iori,” Riku assures him and patting him on the shoulder. “I know what’s going on. To think that you guys are this close! Who confessed first?”

He feels as if his cheeks are on fire at these wild accusations, and all he can do is stammer his correction, “it’s not like that!” However, Riku is _an idiot_ who ignores his protests and just gives him that smug look. Well, it’s better if he thinks that rather than think about the cat-- true, it might better this way. “Think whatever you want.” Iori gives in with a sigh, swatting Riku’s hand off his shoulder. Before Riku can contribute more of his theories about his relationship with Tamaki, Iori ignores him and heads for his bedroom.

* * *

“Yotsuba-san, do you hear me? Nanase-san thinks we’re dating.” Iori fusses as he runs his fingers through Tenten’s soft and luxuriant (while still damp) fur. The two first gave the stray its well-deserved bath, which somehow went quietly without much fuss from the cat. Except for the few mewls that Tamaki talked over in order to hide the cat’s existence.

Tamaki has taken the liberty of dragging in Riku’s beanbag for them to sit on, it seems, which makes them even _more_ suspicious!

“We’re not like that,” Iori insists, grabbing Tamaki’s abandoned hoodie from the floor and slipping it on in retaliation. “Right?”

Tamaki shrugs, as he also lovingly strokes the cat. Whether on purpose or not, Tamaki’s fingers bump against Iori’s.

Iori, in a fit of self-consciousness, pulls away and glances at Tamaki with a completely red face. “Do you not want to correct him?”

“I mean,” Tamaki speaks up, voice dazed and somehow more raspier (sexier) than Iori remembers. “There’s no problem if Rikkun thinks that way. We’re like Tenten’s parents, after all.”

“... parents.” Iori mutters, the word feeling foreign on his tongue. They’re way too young for this, he thinks.

“Tenten is our son, Iorin!” Tamaki exclaims, but the two are quickly cut off by a knock at the door. They both freeze, and swiftly Iori grabs blankets from his bed and piles them on Tenten in hopes of hiding him.

Feeling like it’s somewhat safe now, he clears his throat, “who is it?”

Riku opens the door, and then he stares at them with that same goofy grin on his face from earlier. _Ugh_. “Am I interrupting something? I wanted to know if you guys knew where my beanbag went--” Riku pauses, and stares directly at them.

“Were we in the middle of something?” Iori blinks, glancing over at Tamaki furtively, “you should’ve told me, Yotsuba-san.”

Tamaki opens his mouth to continue the tirade, but Tenten pops out from underneath the blankets. The blankets had done _little_ to dry him off properly from the bath, and so he’s still pretty wet. “Congrats on the delivery, Iorin! Our son is born!”

“Shut up!” Iori fires back without sparing time to think, and he averts his gaze, and instead scoop up the cat in his arms. “Please don’t tell Nii-san or the others, Nanase-san… I’m just going to keep him here until we find him a home, so don’t worry.”

Riku’s shoulders droop, and he steps closer to Iori and Tamaki, and reaches out to touch the cat. Iori shoots a glare at Riku, and pulls away Tenten. “That’s dangerous. Actually, you should leave the room right now.”

“Can’t I at least be his godfather?” Riku pouts, and then turns to Tamaki. “Can’t I?”

Tamaki pretends to be lost in thought for a moment, but ultimately nods. “Sure. Just keep him a secret, kay?”

Riku’s eyes brighten, and pulls both Tamaki and Iori into an embrace. “Yay! So I’ll be keeping two secrets for you guys!”

“What’s the first one?”

“You’re dating, right?”

Iori tries to protest, and Tamaki nods, “you got that right, Rikkun. We’re super lovey dovey. That’s why we have a son.”

“Yotsuba-san!”

**Author's Note:**

> i also don't remember what i was gonna say here but uh. tamaio gay i guess and they have a new cat son  
> how will tenn react? who knows. maybe there will be a sequel in the future. he would be in this fic but i was already well above word cap since i'm a fiend who writes too much
> 
> IT WAS SUCH AN HONOR BEING PART OF THE FLASH BANG!! IT WAS A BLAST and i would totally do it again, but also make sure to check out all the other wonderful fics that came out of it!!! if y'all like tamaio i know there's another tamaio fic so >:)
> 
> [and here's a full version of the art](https://twitter.com/osombu/status/1067290599097806848) since the fic can only show so much LOL. cornbread's such an amazing artist i was Blessed
> 
> and as always you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/shineonthesea)!


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